That's my bed, thank you
by Lolryne
Summary: Princes do not share theirs beds. Do they?


**That's my bed, thank you**

**Once again thank you so much to archaeologist_d for the beta ! She just saved my life!**

**Hope you guys will enjoy it =33**

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Even curled in a tight ball, Merlin's body didn't seem able to stop shivering. His eyes were closed and his fists clenching at his only cover in an unconscious attempt to raise the heat, but it didn't really help. Still, he kept sleeping.

The whole day had been chilly, and the evening a little cold, but no one had expected the night to be so icy. Merlin relaxed a little as a weak light surrounded him.

_Heat. That's too cold here. Need heat._

The light went under him and gently raised him up. His eyes were still closed and his breath low as he began walking, guided by his magic. Somehow, he managed not to stumble against anything as his hands were looking for a blanket. The light was brighter now that he was no longer in his bed, protecting him against the cold, but his hands met nothing that could have helped to keep him warmer.

_That's too cold. Need somewhere else._

He didn't move for some seconds before he turned on his heels and went out. Half-asleep, he closed the door of Gaius's room and came down the stairs until he got to the courtyard. His hands in front of him and his eyes shut, he walked like a zombie. He crossed the empty court, empty corridors, climbed large stairs, stopped a time in a dark corner until the two men his magic had detected went away, and finally arrived in front of a large wooden door.

He opened it and went inside. As he perfectly knew the place, his feet didn't hesitated; he went straight to the large bed and slid into it.

The covers were warm, and Merlin sighed with pleasure. Inside of him, his magic calmed down. It was perfect.

Something pushed him gently in the face, and Merlin wriggled. The light came back, revealing another body in the bed. The prince was deeply asleep too, lying on the back, his hand on Merlin's face. He kept still, slightly snoring.

_Let me sleep. Tired..._

Merlin grimaced and pulled aside the hand before he relaxed again. Arthur moved, mumbling, disturbed by Merlin. He turned on his side and waved an arm, hitting the boy again. Merlin shifted.

"No way I brought this goat," he mumbled. "Stop punching me, bugger...."

He tried to remove Arthur's arm again, but the prince seemed to feel comfortable this way. Merlin barely opened his eyes, golden in the dark and still confused with sleep, grimaced and pushed the prince aside.

"I said no way, leave me."

As ordered, the prince got off immediately. Merlin closed his eyes again, and he didn't hear the door close when Arthur left.

.

It was early when the prince woke up. Way too early, judging by the tiredness he still felt. Something had woken him, he doesn't know what it was, but still he groaned and kept his eyes closed, trying to go back to sleep. It might have been the cold, he thought, feeling the draught in his chamber. Merlin might have opened the window too much before he left, and now the room was icy – he would have to reproach his manservant for that later, when he was awake. Now he just wanted some more sleep, if only his bed was a little less hard and uncomfortable.

"Damn !" He said, without opening his eyes, punching at his pillow in an attempt to make it softer.

What was this pillow, yet? It wasn't a pillow, just a... a _thing_, barely white and apparently supposed to be a pillow. It smelled very good, but it wasn't soft at all. _And damn, he was cold!_

"What the hell....?" he groaned, looking for his real pillow, the huge and soft one.

But it was nowhere to be found, and Arthur frowned more and more as he felt his mind slowly waking up. Glaring around him, he realized that _this_ was not his room.

It was a tiny, messy room, with a window pane broken, a melting pot of clothes, books, hammer and other stuff he was not sure about everywhere around him. Feeling a little lost, Arthur forced himself to remember the last evening, trying to find an explanation for him to be in what he now recognized as Merlin's room. He just needed to focus to figure it out, quickly, because he was pretty sure he _did_ fall asleep in his own bed, not Merlin's, and that he didn't drink at all nor has he ever been sleep-walking. No, the past evening, they had just been in a hunt together, then came back, he had dinner with his father and Morgana, they talked about the festivities which would take place the nextday -it was Christmas-, and then he came back in _his_ room, where Merlin helped him to take a bath before leaving, and finally he went to sleep.

In _his-own-bed_. Nothing about Merlin's room in the recap, so why the hell was he here?

Alright, priorities. First, he was still cold, almost shivering, and he needed to find something warmer than the soft shirt he was wearing.

Pulling aside the cover, he got up and looked around him, found Merlin's jacket and slipped it on. Not perfect, but better.

Now, to the next point, which still was - what was he doing here?

And of course Merlin wasn't here to explain it to him, where was he, by the way? It was the middle of the night, he should have been here!

Arthur kept still for a while in his manservant's room, wondering what to do. He was not used to being there, in Merlin's space, and even if the whole castle was his -and so was Merlin's room-, he couldn't help but feel uncomfortable. As if Merlin or Gaius were about to come in and ask for an explanation – which he didn't have.

But it was his castle, he was the prince, and he absolutely had the right to be where he wanted to be, when he wanted to be! He didn't have to feel guilty at all, right? Right!

He was about to pull the door open when he saw his name. He blinked, not sure, and checked once again; there was a very little box with his name on it on the table, next to a huge book. He frowned, took the box and opened it, too curious to pretend he didn't see it.

Inside was a knife. It had nothing to do with all the knifes he already owned, it was much less valuable, but still, it was kind of beautiful, looked heavy with a slightly curved blade.

However, knifes were expensive, even this one might have been, and Arthur didn't know that he gave Merlin enough so that he could afford it. It was nice, though. And somehow, it was hard to stop looking at it.

He left his fingers on the cold blade some seconds, then blinked, and slowly took it from the little box. He knew he shouldn't, but he really couldn't help himself; he wanted it. It was as if it had been made for him. After all, there was his name on the box.

He chewed his lip a few seconds, before putting the knife in his pocket. Good. He would give it back to Merlin tomorrow. He was just going to borrow it for a day or two.

However, what was he about to do just before...?

He lifted his head again to see the dark and silent room. Yeah, he was about to leave; that was what he should do now.

Arthur pushed gently at the door and glanced at Gaius's room. All was still dark, and he could hear the soft snores of the court physician. He hesitated, then decided not to wake the man up. He didn't know what was happening, but it did occur to him that being found in his manservant's room in the middle of the night wasn't a good idea. He slipped into Gaius's room without a sound and crossed it, as quietly as if he was in some monster's cave. He was acting like a guilty child, he angrily thought, it was _ridiculous_. Still, he moved slowly and took care to not make any noise as he closed the door.

Releasing a breath, he moved away and took the stairs to the court. He was barefooted and the floor was _. _It had been snowing all the previous week, and the stoned floor was so cold that it was hurting.

All he wanted was his bed, his big, comfy pillow, and his sheets.

He crossed the castle without being disturbed, the only ones he met were soldiers checking that everything was alright, and they barely glanced at him.

At last he arrived at his door and came in the dark room. Good. Now he was going to have the end of his night to get some rest. He would find what happened tomorrow morning.

He put off Merlin's jacket and, yawning, let himself fall in his bed.

_There was someone in his bed._

Jumping out, eyes wide open, he looked for his sword as a reflex, trying to see who the hell it was, as the said-someone seemed to wake up.

"What time is it..? Is it already morning...?" asked a sleepy voice.

"Show yourself!" ordered Arthur, finally finding his sword and brandishing it.

"Arthur...?"

Arthur's eyebrows disappeared behind his bangs.

"_Mer_lin?"

What was _Mer_lin doing in _his_ bed?

Not only had he woken up in his manservant's bed, but his manservant was sleeping in his own room. What – the – hell?

"Yeah...," answered the boy, still confused. "Arthur what's going on..?"

"I was about to ask you exactly the same question, _Mer_lin ! What are you doing here?"

"Obviously, I was sleeping until you woke me up, but don't bother yourself with apologies, you know I don't need that much sleep."

"Merlin this is my _room_!"

The manservant stayed quiet a few seconds, visibly in shock, or not able to understand what Arthur had just said.

"_What_...?"

Arthur sighed and went at his window, pulled aside the curtain so the moonlight could shine in. Sitting in his bed, his hair messy, Merlin blinked at the soft light and looked around him. Arthur didn't know if it was moonlight or darkness, but he occurred to him that Merlin was paler than usual, when he seemed finally to realize where he was. He stuttered, then pushed aside the covers as if they were burning him and jumped out of the bed, confused.

"I'm sorry I.. I don't know what I'm doing here, I... I might have been sleep-walking. I'm truly sorry Sire."

"Well when you're sleep-walking, go somewhere else...," groaned Arthur.

Merlin just nodded, blushing, and Arthur couldn't help but to feel himself calm down.

"Go back to sleep, Merlin. You need to get some rest by tomorrow. You look exhausted."

"Y... Yeah. Good night, Sire."

The prince waited for his manservant to get out, and then put back his sword, before going to bed himself.

It was still warm, and Arthur felt the tiredness come back as soon as he touched his beloved pillow. He closed his eyes – he would have purred if he could, and if it wasn't totally inappropriate coming from a knight. His bed was like Heaven, nothing less.

_Merlin should fix his window_, he thought, already half-sleeping. It was too cold in his manservant's room, he was going to be sick....

Arthur smiled slightly, enjoying his own bed, before falling asleep again.

.

Merlin came back in Gaius's apartment, quietly, making sure not to wake the physician up. He crossed the room, went in his own, and closed the door slowly. Then, he sighed in relief.

What an _idiot_! What was wrong with him?! He didn't even exactly know what had just happened! He had fallen asleep in his bed, of that he was sure! But what on the earth could have...?

Merlin's face paled.

He remembered he have been daydreaming before falling asleep, complaining about the cold. The window had been broken this very day and he couldn't help but groan, thinking of how Arthur was comfortable in his own bed – how it must be warm, cosy. Not that he didn't enjoy his bed or his room – he did ! It was enough for him – but he had never slept in a bed like Arthur's, and he was just wondering... how it might be.

Merlin laid down in his bed, punching at his pillow before laying his head on it. But he wasn't tired anymore, just worried. Because it was the very first time in a long time that he had done magic in his sleep, and _that_ wasn't good. At all.

And damn how cold this room exactly was? He felt as if there was some _snow_ in his bed, he couldn't feel his foot anymore!

"_Atcha !"_

Oh Lord... great.

.

"Sire. Wake up, it's morning!"

Arthur blinked, frowned and turned his head to see what was happening again. Blinded by the sunlight, he screwed his eyes shut, and took some seconds to understand that it was Merlin who had just opened his curtains.

Cheerful despite the fact that his nose and cheeks were red and that he was obviously ill -Christmas day-, his manservant sniffed discreetly and came back to him.

"Did you sleep well?"

"Well... yes. The second part of the night, at least."

Merlin smiled briefly, but said nothing. Instead he took the plate he just brought in and put it on the table.

Yawning, Arthur stretched and came over, picked at a piece of ham on his plate.

Merlin stood quietly near him, looking uneasy. He was smiling, and obviously trying hard to look okay, but it was clear he wasn't. Arthur frowned as he glanced at him, and Merlin's smile tensed a little more, his eyes asking "_what?"_, as if daring Arthur to test him or remind him what just happened. Damn, he was so _suspicious_ sometimes!

"You have a cold, don't you?" sighed Arthur.

"Oh... yeah. My window is broken, I'll have to fix it."

_Just as I said_, thought Arthur. _Seriously_.

Now he should try to understand what happened the previous night, but Merlin didn't seem to know any better than he did. And if it was easy to understand why a servant would prefer a royal bed to his own while sleep-walking, it was quite _hard_ to explain why the hell he would go at Merlin's. Thankfully, no one knew he was there, so there was nothing to be embarrassed about.

"Is it my jacket?" asked Merlin, all of a sudden.

"You forgot it yesterday," lied Arthur without blushing, picking up another piece of ham.

And so the day went by. They didn't speak about it at all, but it must have been because they didn't really spend time together. Merlin had been busy all the day helping to prepare, and Arthur had preferred to train with his knights before the festivities begin.

It was snowing at the end of the afternoon, and Arthur decided they had worked enough so they came back at the castle. Merlin was nowhere to be found – as always when Arthur was looking for him – and Arthur supposed he would see him at the feast. Most of the servants were still running everywhere to make sure everything would be ready at time.

But guests arrived, and still Merlin was not there. He was not standing behind Arthur's chair; instead of him there was a young boy, younger than Merlin, who bowed when Arthur arrived.

"Where's my manservant?"

"He's sick, my lord, the court physician said for me to take his place tonight!" answered the boy quickly, as if he were afraid that Arthur would be very angry with him. "Your manservant also told me to tell you he was sorry..."

The boy looked away, uneasy, looking unsure, biting at his lower lip.

Arthur frowned and sat down in his chair, giving some guests who were looking at him a smile. The festivities had just begun, and already he wanted them to be over.

"Very well."

.

Arthur stood in front of Gaius's door. It was the middle of the night now, just late enough that he could afford to exit the party. An important number of guests were drunk or asleep at this time, so it didn't really matter if he stayed or not; no one would probably notice now.

He went to the physician's quarters as soon as he left the banquet, walking without thinking, his thoughts busy with Lady Susan. The young lady have been staring at him the whole time, giving him smiles, lifting her goblet to him before drinking and slowly brushing her hair with her hands while looking at him – and he knew for sure that this brush-with-hands-thing was a not-that-subtle code of ladies to flirt. A very attractive woman, in fact. With whom he would have been very happy to spend the rest of the night. With whom he should have spent the rest of the night ! And he guessed she would have been pleased too. So, the question at this point was - what the hell was he doing here?

He had enjoyed the evening, to be fair, but it was not as great as it might have been with Merlin. He had been worried about his manservant, sometimes thinking about him, and that was... annoying. He would have preferred not to care. Damn, he just avoided Lady Susan to come here, what was wrong with him? And it was the middle of the night _again_, Gaius should been sleeping now, so what was he going to do? Come in, cross the room in silence again and just check to see if Merlin was fine?

Arthur's lips pinched tight.

Alright, he was going to do that. Quickly, so he wouldn't lose a charming night's opportunity and cross the whole castle to come here in vain. Seriously, Merlin was such a burden sometimes.

He slowly pushed the door open and glanced in. The room was quite dark and at first he couldn't see a thing. He blinked, waiting for his eyes to adjust at the darkness, and then he saw Gaius, lying in his bed, asleep. He came in and quietly closed the door behind him.

Holding his breath, he moved towards Merlin's door, cursing himself in his mind. He was being _ridiculous_ again. Coming here while sleeping was not enough for his pride, now he came while he was awake. His father wouldn't have believed it if he had known. It was all Merlin's fault! What an idea to get sick on a day like this?

He pushed Merlin's door and came in, then froze. It was as cold as the previous day; why the hell Merlin hadn't fixed his window yet? He closed the door behind him.

"Merlin?" he whispered. Damn, his fingers were already icy.

Merlin didn't answer. Well, he might have been sleeping -four. a.m., sick, yeah Arthur he might be sleeping, you genius- but Arthur certainly hadn't come here just to watch the Sleeping Beauty. He came closer, and put his hand on Merlin's forehead. He was feverish, and despite the large number of covers Gaius had given him, his skin was still kind of blue. Okay, so now he could wake him up, talk a little and complain about how useless Merlin was and all that kind of stuff. And ask him how he felt, maybe, if it came up in the conversation.

"_Mer_lin!"He whispered again, pushing gently at Merlin's shoulder.

But Merlin did not wake up. He turned in his sleep, and caught Arthur's hand in his, hugging it against his chest, mumbling.

'_What the hell does this -idiot- thinks he's doing?_' was all Arthur managed to think for the next ten seconds, staying perfectly still.

He could have woken the said-idiot up at this very moment and abruptly yank his hand back _thank you very much. _He _should_ have done that - but somehow he felt that it wasn't a good idea. He didn't want his manservant to open his eyes right then, it would have been... way too embarrassing. So the plan was to get the hand back, THEN wake him up. It was a good plan.

Pinching his lips together, he tried to remove his hand very slowly, but Merlin didn't seem to agree. Actually the bastard was hugging it even tighter, as if he were a teddy bear. Okay, enough was enough.

"_Mer_lin!!"

The boy opened his eyes wild-open immediately. Still confused, he looks around with fear, as if looking for danger, mumbling something like « what'sgoingon? », raising his head and pushing aside his covers. Arthur kept an unreadable face as he finally got back his own hand. Merlin blinked, looking at him as he seemed to slowly understand where he was.

"… Arthur...?"

"Yeah."

"What..." he paused one second, unsure, looking worried, then began to shake at the cold and pulled his covers over him again. "What's going on... ? Are you all right?"

"I'm fine, thank you." That wasn't exactly true, since he felt a bit awkward, but he didn't want to bring attention to that; there was no reason to. He was damn cold, too. "What about you? Better?"

"I. Yeah. No." Arthur raised an eyebrow. "I don't know. I feel... icy and –_ what the hell are you doing here?"_

Arthur frowned again. The awkward-feeling wasn't going away at all.

"I came to see if you were better, idiot."

"What time is it?"

"I don't know" Arthur admitted, waving a hand as if it wasn't really important. Merlin kept staring at him, so he tried, "Maybe four o'clock. The feast just ended."

"… Four o'clock."

"More or less."

"You do realize that sick-people usually sleep to feel better the next morning, don't you? Or that what I said yesterday about me not needing sleep this much was a joke. You know, like, _sarcasm_, _irony_, that kind of stuff...?"

Okay, he should have done the Sleeping Beauty thing. Better, he shouldn't have come at all. What was the problem with Merlin? Couldn't he just be grateful or.. or at least not staring at him as if he were insane?

"I just wanted to check if you were not dying alone in your bed, you idiot!"

Merlin seemed unable to say anything at all for a while, just staring at him before finally smiling, in a very gently-mocking way for someone so blue and sweaty. "Wha... really? Well, thank you. That's... nice."

Arthur refused to blush.

"Why didn't you fix your window?" he asked instead.

Merlin took a glance at the said window before he lay down in his bed again. "Didn't have time... There was a lot of things to do before tonight and I was busy in the kitchens...."

"As if you could cook."

"I can."

"I don't believe you."

"You've no idea how many talents I have," whispered Merlin, smiling gently.

Arthur blinked.

"I have to say that really sounds like porn." he finally said – he was quite certain Merlin wasn't the type to do this kind of non-subtle joke, but this one really sounded like one.

Merlin burst out laughing, and Arthur couldn't help but smile to himself before he pats-pats gently at Merlin's back, when he sat up again and his laugh morphed into a terrifying cough. The manservant was almost crying, fifty for pain, fifty for laugh, still smiling from ear to ear.

"Seriously," he finally managed to articulate, eyes brightening as he looked at him. "I wasn't talking about that"

"Well, I guess you weren't. I still wouldn't have believed you if you were actually talking about your sex abilities."

"What, you think I'm bad?"

"I think no one knows yet – you didn't ever have a girlfriend, did you?"

Somehow, Merlin's smile faded slowly, and he stopped looking at him. Arthur blinked, knowing he had said something wrong, and wished he could go back just five seconds before so he could avoid it. He always thought Merlin was an "innocent-one", but he wasn't sure. He was almost twenty by now, had grown up in a small village, was quite cute and -he had to admit- certainly attractive. Without a too long look at his ears and from a woman's point of view – well, he guessed -, of course.

"I had," he finally answered, with a little fake smile. "It didn't last long."

Arthur didn't answer, feeling uneasy. Merlin added nothing else, and they both stayed quiet for a while. Merlin had gone back under his mountain of covers, and Arthur was chafing his hands together, sniffing a little. He was beginning to think that he would get a cold, too, but he didn't want to leave yet. He hated uneasy silences.

"You'll find a new one," he finally said.

Merlin smiled. "You should worry about yourself, my lord. I'm not the one who will need a Queen. For a Prince, you don't have that many ladies at your feet, do you?"

"There are not that many pretty ladies in Camelot, Merlin, but all of them have a serious crush on me, thank you very much. And you, you'll still need a woman to take care of you. I won't be able to watch over you all my life, you know."

"I will," Merlin whispered, and Arthur ceased to rub his hands to look at him. His manservant was still smiling, strangely happy again, despite his nose being deep red and his eyes were crying from cold. "I will watch over you all my life."

Arthur didn't answer that. He didn't dare, at first, because somehow he knew Merlin was perfectly serious, that his manservant had one day decided that his whole life would be dedicated to the Prince. Arthur didn't know when or why. He just knew that Merlin would always be near him, whatever happened. It was an unsaid oath, strangely stronger than all the others he had heard in his life.

"I know," he finally whispered back. "Thank you."

Merlin smiled a little more and closed his eyes before answering, seemingly happy. "You are very welcome."

Arthur smiled back, even if Merlin couldn't see him. His manservant looked tired again. He guessed he should let him get some more rest before morning. The castle would certainly be quiet until midday; after a feast like this one, nobles and knights would be allowed to sleep more than usual. Servants would clean the place during this time. Certainly, Merlin would have to do that too if he were healed enough.

"I wanted to give you a gift, for Christmas." Merlin finally said, in a very low voice. "But I lost it."

"What was it?"

"A dagger. A beautiful one."

Arthur opened his mouth, surprised. "I. Er. Yeah. I took it."

Merlin opened his eyes again, frowning and staring at him, and his voice was no longer low at all when he asked, "_What_?"

"I saw it yesterday, so I took it." Merlin frowned more. "There was my name on the box! I guessed it was for me!"

Merlin looked like he couldn't believe it. He rose up on one elbow. "You go on my bedroom, snoop, find it and took it?"

"Well -"

"Are you _insane_?"

"Weren't you just making an oath ten seconds ago?" Arthur protested, short of excuses. Okay, stealing the dagger hadn't exactly been the smartest thing to do, but he couldn't help himself. It was not a habit, he never stole before, but... there had been his name on the box!

"I take it back, you'll die alone, there's no way I would spend my life with you. I can't believe it! You... _You went through my room_! What the hell were you looking for?"

It might be the moonlight again or the sickness, but Arthur couldn't help but find Merlin dead-pale. He looked quite like a corpse, right now. An angry corpse. He was shaking again, sitting on his bed, and it was difficult to guess if it was from cold or from anger. It might be both.

"Alright Merlin, I'm sorry. Calm down."

Merlin pinched his lips, still staring at him, before he repeated, "What where you looking for?"

_I don't know, I had just woken up in your bed?_

"You. I just wanted to talk to you, you weren't there, I saw it and I just took it without thinking. I'm sorry, okay? Calm down."

Merlin said nothing, looking unsure, before he seemed to decide Arthur was telling the truth. Then he sighed and calmed, awkward.

"Alright, I'm.. sorry I freaked out. I'm just... tired."

"I can see that.. Look, get some rest, okay? You should sleep."

Merlin nodded then got back under his covers. He no longer looked at Arthur, but the prince knew that he was forgiven already, that his manservant was just ill, and tired, and icy, and...

"I didn't think of anything for you," he confessed, "for Christmas."

Merlin closed his eyes. "That's okay, just let me sleep for some hours and I'll be a happy man, seriously,"

"Yeah. Of course. Good night Merlin."

"Good night, Sire." he half-opened his eyes, just the time to give his master a smile.

.

Merlin felt dizzy by now – just wanna sleep. He had closed his eyes as soon as he had heard the prince go out, and tried to let himself fall asleep. The heat under the covers was gone when he had pulled it aside, but it was coming back slowly, and Merlin felt his body relax.

His mind was still worried about what Arthur had been doing in his room, but he was too tired to stay awake any longer. His eyes opened beside himself, and he took a glance at his spell book, just next to the box Arthur had found. He had been a fool to leave it out. But Arthur never came in his bedroom, usually, no one did. He was very, _very_ lucky that Arthur had not opened it. Arthur's visit would not have been that nice at all, if he had.

Merlin smiled without joy before closing his eyes again. Arthur had been nice to come. Merlin knew princes, nobles and knights didn't usually do that. He was lucky, to have his destiny united with such a great man, he thought as he felt he was finally falling asleep again.

"Merlin!"

However great the man managed to be, Merlin felt like he was about to murder him himself.

"Arthur, weren't you _leaving_?" he begged with his most plaintive voice, "Go to sleep!"

"Yeah yeah, I know. I just found your Christmas's gift! Come!"

What was wrong with Arthur? Merlin felt exhausted, feverish, icy... All he wanted was at least some hours of rest before he had to get up tomorrow morning. He didn't care at all about Christmas right now.

"Look, Arthur, that's really sweet of you but – tomorrow, okay?"

"No, right now, come!"

"Arthur, I'm not sure I can even walk more than five steps before I collapse! Couldn't that just wait? I just want to sleep, for God's sake!"

"And sleep you will, thank to me." The prat really looked proud of himself, as he pulled all the covers off Merlin.

"You're the one who won't stop waking me up!" protested the boy. Oh great, he was shaking again. This room was just too cold.

"Stop acting like an idiot, and do as I say."

Merlin sighed and got up. That was just great, he didn't dare think about what tomorrow would bring. He was going to faint, sooner or later, if he did not sleep. But Arthur didn't seem to care at all, grabbed him by the arm and then took him away with him.

.

Arthur looked at Merlin, waiting for his reaction. Merlin didn't look back at him; he just blinked, twice, and kept staring at the bed. Arthur had just brought him back at his own room, had closed the door behind him and then said,

"Alright. You can sleep here tonight."

Merlin kept still for a moment. Surely he would have to found something to say if he had felt better, but for now it didn't seemed able to reach his brain. Sleep here tonight. Sure.

As he kept silent, Arthur looked at him. Then at his bed.

"That's involves you going into my bed and closing your eyes, Merlin"

"Where would you sleep?" finally asked Merlin, looking confused, still not looking at him.

"Well, the room near this one is empty so..."

Merlin just nodded, silent. The room Arthur was thinking about was the one Sophia had lived in for some days. They never talked about it after Sophia disappeared, and Merlin had not been sure Arthur was completely over it. It was months ago, now, but the enchantment had been strong.

"You sure..?" he asked.

"Yeah, now go to sleep. Nobody will look for you here and nobody will dare wake me up before midday, so... you've got some bonus-hours."

Merlin smiled, and he might be really, really exhausted, because he felt his eyes were almost wet. "Thank you," he just whispered, not making a move.

Arthur smiled back, before gently pushing Merlin toward the bed. "Go to sleep, idiot. Tomorrow afternoon you'll have many chores to do."

Merlin almost laughed, before nodding. "Yes Sire."

He looked like he was about to say something else, but finally just thanked him again, then went to bed. He looked as clumsy as ever, too exhausted to need to be persuaded, and too respectful to just fling himself on the bed. He just pulled the sheet up, slid under the covers, smiled at Arthur in the dark and closed his eyes.

Arthur didn't move. He waited some seconds, and he knew for sure that Merlin was already asleep. His manservant had looked awful – he didn't look really healthy normally, but when he was sick it was scary, somehow.

The prince sighed. He didn't have the slightest idea of the time, but he was quite sure the sun would soon be up. And he was himself tired, he should go to sleep, too.

Yawning in the most discreet way possible, he went to his chest and pulled out another cover from it, a soft fur. Merlin would need it, Arthur used to sleep under just a fur, when he didn't sleep on top of it. He went to the bed and unfolded it, put it on Merlin. Seriously, this idiot should be grateful – his father would go crazy if he knew about it.

Arthur smiled with amusement. Well, Merlin was.. kind of special. Once a year, for Christmas, it wasn't that tragic, was it?

"Good night, idiot," he said in a low voice, smiling.

Merlin didn't answer back. He just turned in his sleep, grabbed Arthur's hand near him and hugged it against his chest again.

Arthur didn't move. He left his hand there, just for some minutes. Merlin was quite good at doing embarrassing things, even while sleeping, it seemed.

He was kind of unaware of which behavior he was supposed to stand, as if he were not concerned about subordination, patience, blind obeisance, or whatever a good servant was expected to show if he wanted to avoid problems. He could had had many, acting like that, if his master hadn't been Arthur. Not that Arthur had thought he would one day allow a servant to be so insolent. Loyalty, respect and obeisance were important for a King, if he wanted to keep his credit and his authority. Even if acting like a tyrant was not the better way to rule a country, being too indulgent could be dangerous, too. It was a sort of a weakness, and weakness can bring betrayal and fights for the crown. A King needed loyal servants, not some who would feel free to call him a prat.

Merlin managed to be both. As long as he was the only one, that was okay.

Arthur sighed slightly, before trying once more to remove his hand without disturbing Merlin. He was the Crown Prince, not a teddy bear. His manservant let him go more easily than the first time, deeply asleep. Arthur smiled and kept still a few more seconds. He was not really good at showing people how much he cared about them. He simply hoped they knew.

The prince left the bed and went at the window. He closed the curtain, making sure the sun wouldn't come in in the morning. He glanced a last time at Merlin, then went out, and closed the door behind him without a noise. Tomorrow afternoon would be a busy day.

.

**R&R please !**


End file.
